Overview

• Elias Rapieque confirmed his exit from Alba Berlin after 14 years to pursue NCAA basketball at Kansas State despite having three seasons left on his contract.
• Ivan Kharchenkov of FC Bayern is reportedly set to join the Arizona Wildcats, underlining the trend among top Bundesliga prospects.
• Rising German talents are drawn by collegiate NIL agreements that combine substantial earnings with academic and professional training environments.
• Because the NCAA does not classify college competition as professional, German teams lack legal means to prevent players under valid contracts from leaving.
• The outflow of young players presents a growing retention challenge for leading German clubs such as Alba Berlin and FC Bayern.